Cornelia Turner was not only a beauty but also a heiress. Her
father Jean-Baptiste Chastel de Boinville (1756-1813) lost his
life in the war against Russia. Her mother's name was Harriet
Collins. Through William Godwin, an acquaintance of the Boinvilles,
she met the lawyer Thomas Turner and they married in 1812. In
1814 the poet Shelley stayed at the Boinville house with Cornelia
and her mother Harriet, while his wife was with her father in
Bath and her husband was in London. Cornelia taught Shelley
Italian and they soon became on friendly terms and spent lots
of time together, reading novels and having long talks.

When
Cornelia called at Godwin's place on 16 Jul he immediately wrote
to Turner, who took her away to Devon and saw to it that she
never met Shelley again.

Around 1847 she lived in Paris
and there she received people like Daniele Manin (1804-1857)
and Vincenzo Gioberti (1801-1852). Towards the end of her life
she befriended the young Violet Paget, better known as the author
Vernon Lee. She helped her during her first literary efforts
and she bequeathed her a watch that once belonged to Dr. Charles
Burney and is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. A few
hours before her death in 1874 she wrote a letter to Violet.